Faculty, staff, almuni, and student achievements | College of Arts and Sciences, American University, Washington, DC

Achievements

GRANTS AND RESEARCH

Kim Blankenship (sociology) won a $753,433 (funding for year one of five-year project) from National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her project titled "Social Determininants of HIV: The Intersecting Impacts of Mass Incarceration, Housing Stability, and Subsized Housing Policies."

Frederick Bruhweiler (physics) received $300,000 (partial funding for a $2,358,826 total award) from NASA for a five-year project through June 30, 2021 titled "Establishing the Legacy of the RHESSI Space Mission." He also won a $27,626 award from the Space Telescope Science Institute for his project "Identifying the Progenitor of a New Red Transient."

David Carlini (biology) won a $13,664 award from the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias for the project "Testing for Parallel Evolution in Gammarus Minus Cave Populations Using Whole Transciptome Data."

Terry Davidson (psychology) won a four-year $1,265,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) award for the project "Signals to Feed: Biological and Associative Mechanisms," $316,417 of which will be received this year.

Molly Dondero (sociology) was awarded $31,889 fromPennsylvania State University for the project "The Mexican Children of Immigrants Program."

Daniel Fong (biology) won a $33,000 award from the US Fish and Wildlife Service for the project "Molecular Genetic Variations among Lirceus usdagalum, L. culveri, and L. hargeri Populations using Next Generation Sequencing Methods."

Maria Floro (economics) won a $25,000 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) award for "Exploring Migration and Food Insecurity Relationship: New Evidence from the Food & Agriculture Organization's Food Insecurity Experience Scale" and a $70,000 award from the The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for "AU Planning Workshop for Research Program on Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Models for Policy Analysis."

Douglas Fox (chemistry) won a $104,675 award from the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities for his project titled "Fluorescent Cellulose Nanomaterial Development Project."

David Haaga (psychology) won a $321,750 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project titled "Looming Vulnerability and Smoking Cessation Attempts."

Stephen MacAvoy (environmental science) was awarded $14,445 from the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias for his project "Assessing the trophic ecology and climate change resilience of Stygobromus tenuis."

Alan Silberberg and Maria Gomez (psychology) won a $428,866 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for this project titled "Experimental Tests of the Adequacy of Rat Models of Human Empathy."

Kirsten Stoebenau (sociology)won a $50,000 DC Center for AIDS Research award from George Washington University for her project titled "Improving measures of the gender dimensions of adolescent girls and young women's risk of HIV through transactional sex."

APPOINTMENTS AND HONORS

Daniel Abraham (performing arts) was elected chair of the Committee on Monographs for the American Choral Directors Association.

Professor Kyle Dargan's (literature) poem "Honest Engine" was nominated for the 2016 Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards recognizing the best in Black literature. "Honest Engine" also received an Honorable Mention for the 2016 Eric Hoffer Book Award in Poetry and shortlisted for the Grand Prize.

David Keplinger (literature)received a 2017 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in the area of Literary Translation. This is Keplinger's second NEA fellowship.

Professor Matthew Hartings (chemistry) has been selected to receive the STAM Altmetrics Award 2016 for his work, "The chemical, mechanical, and physical properties of 3D printed materials composed of TiO2-ABS nano composites."

PUBLICATIONS, PRODUCTIONS, AND EXHIBITIONS

John Willoughby (economics) was
featured in WalletHub's recent piece about how demographics will shape future elections.

Ernesto Castaneda and Michael Bader (sociology)wrote an op-ed for
The Hill on the falsehoods of the so-called dangerous southwest border with Mexico. They wrote, " The border region contains some of the poorest areas in the United States. For the most part, it is a safe place."

Kyle Dargan's (literature) poem "Minefields" was
featured in BuzzFeedNews.

Director of the Creative Writing Program
Kyle Dargan's (literature) poem P
oints of Contact was
featured in
The New York Times Magazine. Dargan's poem is a ghazal or a lyric poem, which originated in the Arabian Peninsula. Dargan wrote, 'Name one revolution whose inception was unlike a fist. Factions disparate, then tucked together, coiled like a fist."

Douglas Fox (chemistry) published a paper on modifying cellulose nanocrystals for use in polymers in
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b06083).

Edward Helfers (literature)wrote an article for The Rumpus on distance swimming. Helfers wrote, "Unlike athletes who play team sports, swimmers labor in solitary, submerged in a strangely silent medium. Absent conversation or choreography, one becomes uniquely attuned to the forces conspiring against the body - gravity, lactic acid, time."

The
Oral History Review republished
Dan Kerr's (history) "We Know What the Problem Is: Using Oral History to Develop a Collaborative Analysis of Homelessness from the Bottom Up", in a separate anniversary issue that included the fifteen most influential oral history articles published in the OHR since its inception in 1973.

Dan Kerr's (history) article "Allan Nevis is not my Grandfather: the Roots of Radical Oral History Practice in the United States" was published in the 50th anniversary special issue of
Oral History Review. He was also
featured on
Press Record, a podcast produced by the Southern Oral History Program. The episode focuses on "Oral History for Movement Building."

Out MagazinefeaturesWilliam Leap's (anthropology) forthcoming Language Before Stonewall project in Lavender Language,
The Queer Way to Speak.

Allan Lichtman (history) wrote an
article about Donald Trump for
The Hill. Lichtman wrote, "We should not forget that when rich elites like Donald Trump avoid taxes, the rest of us pay the price, either through higher taxes or an increase in the deficit that Trump repeatedly decries."

For
The Guardian,
Juliana Martinez, (world languages and cultures)wrote an article on Jennifer Lopez's upcoming HBO biopic on Colombian drug-trafficking legend, Griselda Blanco. Martinez wrote, "These shows present Colombians as the bearers of a cocaine-filled Trojan horse and obscure the global dynamics that create and uphold the international drug trade."

Cynthia Miller-Idriss, director of the International Training and Education program,
wrote an article for The New York Times on national symbols. Miller-Idriss wrote, "National symbols deserve respect not because they are static representations of unchanging ideals, but because they offer a focal point for diverse societies to express and navigate what it is that unites and represents them."

Danielle Mysliwiec's (art) artwork has been
included in the exhibition ESSENTIAL STRUCTURE at the Chandra Cerrito Contemporary gallery in Oakland, CA.

The Washington Postfeatured research by
Stacey Snelling (health studies) and Sarah Irvine Belson (education). Snelling and Irvine Belson found that the amount of time students spend on physical activity in DC schools is linked to improvement in standardized math scores.

Jennifer Steele (education)penned an op-ed for
The Washington Post about the recent executive order in Maryland delaying the opening of schools. Steele wrote, "Lengthening summer vacation will not help and may hurt student learning, especially for the children whose success depends the most on their schools. For a long-term economic boost, the governor should put education first."

Lily Wong's (literature) completed book manuscript, "Transpacific Attachments: Sex Work, Media Networks, and Affective Histories of Chineseness," was offered a contract by Columbia University Press to appear in their Global Chinese Culture series.

Melissa Scholes Young (literature)wrote an article about first-generation college students for
The Atlantic. Young wrote: "While students aren't required to disclose their parents' educational backgrounds - and many don't - self-identified first-generation students are often linked to or assumed to have economic disadvantage." Young's article also featured Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Celine-Marie Pascale.

Melissa Scholes Young's (literature) novel, FLOOD, will be
published in June 2017 by Hachette/Center Street.

IN THE MEDIA

Anthony Ahrens (psychology)spoke with NPR about the feeling of gratitude and his recent research into why some people are more grateful than others. "Autonomous folks who really value independence might feel that gratitude undermines that independence, says Ahrens."

Naomi S. Baron (world languages and cultures)spoke to KCBS 740 AM about how the acronym MOAB received negative attention on social media. Baron said, "Languages change their meanings of words over time. This is not surprising to have happened." She also
talked with
The Washington Post about the great historical misquote: "Houston, we have a problem." Baron noted that the verb tense of the original quote was less dramatic. She previously
spoke with
The Washington Post about digital communication and voice assistants.

Naomi S. Baron (world languages and cultures)spoke to
Ozy about the staying power of emoji's and how she's not convinced emoji usage will last. Baron said, "It's a fad, and fads are fun, but they come and go."

Naomi S. Baron (world languages and cultures)appeared on WUSA9 to discuss the origin and meaning of the word news. Baron said, "I'm sorry to disappoint, but news is not an acronym for anything."

Robert Blecker (economics)spoke to Canada's CBCNews about Donald J. Trump and Carrier jobs in Indiana. "Can this work in the long run? Well, he's not going to negotiate with every company," Blecker said. He also
talked with Salon about Donald Trump's threats against Mexico and the impact on consumers on both sides of the border. "For both the US and Mexico, it's challenging because if you start putting tariffs on imports from the other country, you're essentially putting tariffs on some of the inputs of many of the things you want to make," Blecker said. In addition, Blecker
spoke to
Politifact about Kellyanne Conway's inaccuracy regarding Mexico's primary source of income. Blecker noted, "Remittances are important -- just far from No. 1."

Robert Blecker (economics)spoke to Bloomberg BNA about the likelihood of the Trump administration renegotiating NAFTA labor standards. Blecker said, "I'd say the odds of it happening are extremely low-close to zero."

Ernesto Castaneda-Tinoco (sociology)spoke to
Education Week about undocumented immigrants. Castaneda said, "People assume they are here taking advantage of opportunities that they are here and that means that the other kids are going to get less of something."

Kyle Dargan (literature) had his excerpt from scholar Adam Bradley's forthcoming novel, "The Poetry of Pop", featured in the
Paris Review.

Terry Davidson (neuroscience), Director of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience spoke to the Los Angeles Times about negative eating habits that can affect people's brains and other bodily systems. Davidson said, "There was no reason to think the brain would be protected, and it doesn't seem that it is."

Terry Davidson (director of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience)talked to NPR about how poor eating habits can affect both the body and the brain. Davidson stated, "It's surprising to me that people would question that obesity would have a negative effect on the brain, because it has a negative effect on so many other bodily systems," he says, adding, why would "the brain would be spared?"

Tim Doud (art) had
portraits featured in
The Washington Post, which are currently in a show at Gallery Neptune and Brown. The reviewer writes, "...Doud doesn't work from photographs, and sometimes depicts gazes and poses at an angle to the picture plane. The approach is painterly yet precise, and strongly conveys specific likenesses. It's not just the clothing that gives Doud's subjects their individuality."

Ellen Feder (philosphy)spoke with Health.com about intersex. "Many of these surgeries are not necessary for the health and well-being of the child," says Feder.

Anton Fedyashin (Carmel Institute of Russian Culture and history director) appeared
on Hearst Television to discuss Russia-US relations. Fedyashin said, "I am cautiously optimistic precisly because it seems that both sides are willing to de-ideologize foreign policy." He also
appeared on CGTN to discuss how Jeff Sessions is in hot water for not disclosing to Congress that he met with Russian leaders. He also
spoke to NPR's KPCC affiliate about whether Russia poses any threat to its neighbors or allies.

Anton Fedyashin (Carmel Institute of Russian Culture and history director)appeared on CGTN to summarize President Xi Jinping's trip to Russia. Fedyashin said, "The central issue during the meeting here in Moscow will be economic cooperation. That is the most important concern for both sides."

Daniel Fong (biology)
discussed new research about DC's amphipods that he contributed to an article published on
Axios.

Douglas Fox (chemistry) spoke about the applicability of his research with
cellulose nanoncrystals for a trade publication on wind energy.

Max Paul Friedman (history)spoke with New Orleans Public Radio about World War II history, specifically the Latin American deportation operation and Germans that lived there at the time. The Roosevelt administration asked FBI agents to go and find dangerous Nazis in Latin America, Friedman explained.

Lindsay Grace(director of Game Lab) appeared on
Al Jazeera to speak about the historical accuracy in video games. Grace also spoke to
WalletHub about the problem of addiction to gambling.

Mustafa Gurbuz (sociology) spoke to
USA Today about a poll of Arab citizens showing they believe intervention policies gave rise to ISIS. Gurbuz said, "The majority of the Arabs think that the U.S. invasion to Iraq was a huge mistake, primarily driven by American interest in controlling the oil fields; and they perceive ISIS as a continuation of Iraqi Sunni insurgency."

Mary Hansen (economics)spoke to
Smithsonian Magazine about how Republican views on taxes shifted over the years. Hansen said, "The most obvious difficulty to get over [for proponents of supply-side economics] is the Clinton years, when we had increasing taxes and increasing growth. [Today] very few people are experiencing such high marginal tax rates that they actually work less because of it. We could raise another 30 percent more taxes on income tax."

Matthew Hartings (chemistry)sat down with Thrillist to discuss the popularity of the Wendy's Frosty and French fry combination. "And why use a spoon when you can use fries, right?" Hartings said. He had
research featured in a 3D printing forum in www.3ders.org. Hartings and fellow researchers successfully printed a chemically active structure by using nanocomposites and a 3D printer. Hartings said, "As a chemist…I wanted 3D printed objects to be able to do chemistry after they were printed."

Matthew Hartings (chemistry)spoke to
The Verge about what it takes to roast the perfect marshmallow. Hartings said, "Many foods don't get hot enough when they cook for caramelization (like bread). Marshmallows certainly do over a fire."

Nathaniel Herr (psychology) spoke to the
New York Times about the process of institutional review boards. Herr said, "It is a little more work and some could find it onerous, but I still find it a worthy process because you get questions and suggestions that make you feel more confident that subjects are protected."

Nathaniel Herr (psychology)spoke to LifeScript about how men cope with depression. Herr said, "A man may rally at work, but then collapse and feel overwhelmed when he gets home."

Cheryl Holcomb-Mccoy (dean of the School of Education)spoke with Diverse: Issues in Higher Education about the Senate education committee's decision to move forward with the nomination of Betsy DeVos. Holcomb-Mccoy said, "I thought we were really moving in the right direction of ensuring that all students that choose to go to college in the U.S. have access to fair education and equitable education across the board."

Kathleen Holton (health studies) discussed her research on food additives and neurological illness with the
Healthy U Radio Show on KMEM-FM. She also
spoke to
Prevention Magazine about food additives and fibromyalgia. Patients who abstain from certain food additives find their symptoms improve and they can live healthier lives. Holton's research on the connection between ADHD and exercise was featured in an article from
The Pittsburgh Parent .

Monica Jackson (mathematics and statistics)spoke to
The Hechinger Report about the importance of helping and encouraging more African-American women to go into the STEM fields. Jackson said, "Give them access to resources that can hone their skills.'' She also noted, "Help her to see the fun in math. Math is very challenging but there is a beautiful side to it that makes it all worthwhile."

Kiho Kim (environmental science)spoke to Nexus Media News for a story that posted to the blog of
Popular Science magazine. The story featured new research by Kim about hose scientists can examine coral skeletons for signs of pollution. "We definitely see signs of pollution stress," he said. But, "in general, reefs are resilient and can come back if the stressor is removed."

Ibram Kendi (history) spoke with NPR's 1A show about recent hate crimes on university campuses in the US and how racism can be addressed. A best-selling author and award-winning historian, Kendi will join American University this August as a professor of history and international relations in both the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and School of International Service (SIS), and will serve as the founding director of the new Anti-Racism Research and Policy Center at the university. Last fall Kendi delivered a talk at AU that inspired a partnership between College of Arts and Sciences Dean Peter Starr and School of International Service Dean James Goldgeier to bring Kendi and the center to AU. Starr told NBC4, "We're hoping to have students, faculty and staff work together with Dr. Kendi to begin to craft positive, forward-thinking solutions to problems that are centuries old." AU student Autumn Grant, also interviewed, said, "I think having this announcement come out at the time it did shows that there is long-term work going on the campus to better the university as a whole." The Washington Post editorial board wrote about AU's efforts to end racism on campus in the wake of the on-campus hate crime, WRC-NBC4 and The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education covered Kendi's appointment as founding director of AU's Anti-Racist Research and Policy Center, and an ABC News Online story discussed AU's advisory to students on cyberhate and Facebook Live event to help students be proactive after notification of possible online threats against student government leaders. Kendi said, "We need to realize that one of the greatest threats to American lives today -- if not the greatest threat -- are white supremacists who are armed and angry and seeking from their standpoint to make America great again."

Alan Kraut (history)conducted a Q-and-A with
The Atlantic about immigration policy. Kraut said, "The United States has always had a kind of love-hate relationship with immigration." He also
spoke with the Associated Press and USA Today about the flaws of immigration in the United States. Kraut said, "Here we are, the United States, a nation of nations, with the iconic symbol of the Statue of Liberty, and yet we are still arguing about the peopling of America." The story ran in about 400 publications nationwide.

Peter Kuznick (history)spoke to the Pacific Standard about the social divide between scientists and political leaders. Kuznick said, "Most early-20th-century scientists were seen by the American public as conservatives." He also has
talked with WTOP and shared his views on President Trump. He has
shared his expertise about what happens next involving mass protests with Christian Science Monitor.

Robert Lerman (economics)spoke to Time about how companies in multiple industries are offering more apprenticeships. Lerman said, "The number of other companies offering apprenticeships -- where new workers learn while they earn a reduced salary -- has also risen sharply."

Alan Lichtman (history) discussed his new book, "The Case for Impeachment," in a livestream conversation hosted by ABC News Online (Digital). Four AU students also joined the conversation to discuss their thoughts on President Trump's first 100 days and the future of the Democratic Party. He also appeared on MSNBC and other outlets to discuss the fallout from the firing of former FBI director James Comey. Lichtman said, the case was "becoming too compelling for even Republicans to resist an impeachment inquiry."

Allan Lichtman (history) appeared on
MSNBC's AM Joy to discuss his new book, "The Case for Impeachment." Lichtman said, "The first rule of politics is self-preservation. If those Republicans in Congress believe that Trump has become a liability to them, they may be willing to jettison him." He also had his new book, "The Case for Impeachment",
reviewed by
The Washington Post. Lichtman said during an interview with the
Post, "I make very clear that I do not believe Trump should be impeached because he's an unconventional president." He also appeared on CNN and MSNBC's Morning Joe. Previously he
spoke with
The Washington Post about his time-tested system that has successfully predicted the winner of presidential elections. Lichtman said, "Based on the 13 keys, it would predict a Donald Trump victory."

Allan Lichtman (history)spoke with WTOP about President Obama's legacy. Lichtman said, "After all, Obama likely averted a financial meltdown [and] perhaps a descent into depression." WTTG Fox 5 also spoke with Robert Lehrman, communications professor, about the president's farewell speech. In addition, he
talked with Sinclair/WJLA online about President Obama's decision to speak out against Trump and
spoke with WTTG about President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.

Allan Lichtman (history)spoke to
Newsweek about how policy leaders are demanding Trump be prosecuted in connection with allegations of obstruction of justice. Lichtman said, "We have direct evidence of the president of the United States going to the person in charge of the investigation and trying to get him to put loyalty to the president above the investigation."

Juliana Martinez (world languages and cultures)talked with
US News & World Report about gender fluidity and coming out. Martinez said, "Even expressions like 'gender identity' are not familiar to most people," so it is important to be prepared with clear definitions and setting expectations.

Stephen MacAvoy (environmental science)spoke with
Earth Magazine about his research in urban waterways and his work as a professor. MacAvoy said, "You can really change how a student views the world. Those students will carry a memory of being inspired with them for the rest of their lives, and that is a big deal. If you enhance someone's life experience, you've changed the world."

Cynthia Miller-Idriss (education and sociology) talked with
Voice of America about a study on professors and service work. "Internal service doesn't bring the same kinds of advantages to the university in a visible way," Miller-Idriss said. She also
spoke to Sinclair Broadcasting about the increase of black bloc protests. Miller-Idris said, "While it's very important to protect free speech on college campuses, I believe each campus has to decide for itself where the line gets drawn."

Cynthia Miller-Idriss (education)talked to
Ozy about the European far right. Miller-Idriss said, "When people feel unsettled by social change, these kinds of ideologies draw on Utopian fantasies about national restoration to a simpler, more rooted time."

Pamela Nadell (history)talked with Hadassah magazine about the uptick in anti-semitic incidents worldwide and provided historical context. Nadell said, "I turn to the past to look for lessons in the present. I like to think of a line from a poem by Muriel Rukeyser: "I am in the world/ to change the world," and that's what I like my students to consider. They are here because we hope they are going to learn how to change the world for the better."

Adrienne Pine (anthropology)spoke to
Al Jazeera about free trade agreements between the United States and other countries. Pine said, "They have been disastrous for citizens of all countries involved (including the United States), yet hugely beneficial for corporations."

Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska (history)spoke with
Architectural Digest about how historians are coming together to save artifacts left behind from protesters across the country. She said, "So much contemporary activism is online, through social media platforms like Twitter, which museums and different historical societies are experimenting with collecting, but what those institutions work best with is tangible ephemera."

Ying-chen Peng (art)talked with
Voxabout the artist Ai Weiwei. "We can definitely consider him as both an artist and an activist, and sometimes I think his role of activism actually overrides his other identity," she said.

Arturo Porzecanski (economics) spoke to
The Los Angeles Times about Puerto Rico's economic crisis. Porzecanski said, "Government agencies should have been whittled down proportionally, and now this is all happening during one of the worst moments in Puerto Rico's history."

Jennifer Steele (School of Education)spoke with
NPR about her research on bilingual education. Steele said, "If it's just about moving the kids around that's not as exciting as if it's a way of teaching that makes you smarter."

Catherine Stoodley (psychology) was
featured in a profile in
The Lowell Sun. Stoodley studies the role of the brain's cerebellum in developmental disorders. Stoodley discussed the methods she and her students use to conduct research and said the best part of her job is being able to contribute to scientific knowledge in a rapidly changing field.

Andrew Taylor (performing arts) spoke to the Associated Press about the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Taylor said, "The deficit is not high compared to the total budget, but remember, these numbers are not just about the money: Donors want to back a winning story, and any indication that it's not, makes them skittish."

Christopher W. Totten (game design)spoke to VentureBeat about the upcoming Smithsonian American Art Museum Arcade, a collaboration between the Smithsonian American Art Museum and AU's Game Lab, which will showcase multiple indie games. Chris Totten said, "What you get is a showcase designed to draw people in with nostalgia but challenge their notions of games by having them meet real game developers and then see games with alternate controllers or other exploratory elements." Long Island Tech News also covered the story.

Ximena Varela (arts management)appeared on Marketplace to discuss the new Yayoi Kusama exhibit at Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Varela said, "There's a lot riding on it for the Hirschhorn."

Vivian Vasquez (education) talked with
Forbes about teaching critical thinking skills as a way to combat fake news. Vasquez said, "I work with teachers to help them encourage students to ask some core questions when they are reading something. Ask yourself, "What is the writing trying to make me feel? What is it trying to do to me? What reactions am I having emotionally, cognitively, physically?" You may find yourself getting sympathetic or angry as you read something. Was that the writer's intent? If so, was the writer being manipulative, or are the facts of the story innately endearing or infuriating?"

Katharina Vester (history) was a
featured expert on BBC's program "The Food Chain."

David Vine (anthropology)spoke with
Time Magazine about the positive impact of shutting down military bases. Vine stated, "Our bases in the Philippines and Japan today risk sucking us into a clash with China because of territorial and maritime disputes between the countries along the South China Sea."

Stef Woods (American studies)spoke with
DC Metro Theatre Arts about a Smithsonian lecture she gave about the season 5 preview of "House of Cards" and Woods' "Politics, TV Series, and Ethics" class. In the discussion, Woods gave a breakdown of how the show compared with modern day politics.